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Thread: SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

  1. #1
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    Actually Abdiel is my real name, but my friends call me "Vilo"

    Default SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

    DISEASE QUESTIONNAIRE


    Problem

    1. Please explain the problems with your fish. When did you notice the problems and did anything unusual happen that you think started them?
    Okay, I know I made a big mistake by adding these two new wild caught Discus fish to my Discus colony without quarantine them, I was going with the premises that since I know the LFS where I purchased them, which is were I have purchased all my Discus, and I have been keeping an eye on them for the past 3 months and they seemed to be fine, that I concluded quarantine was not necessary, "Big Mistake”.

    So, I purchased the 2 wild caught Discus on Friday afternoon, they looked fine. On Sunday Morning I noticed one of them had develop a small white growth on the left side of its head, this was concerning but I decided to monitor it to see if it goes away or if I should reach out for help. That same day, late afternoon I went to check on the fish and noticed that the little white growth had spread into 2 slightly bigger growth ball looking things, so my go to reaction to stress was I "freaked out”, and started calling everyone I knew in my fish Club asking for advice, that's how landed here, one of the members knew a member of Simply Discus and put us in contact and I was referred to the website, now Im here pleading my case to you all for assistance.

    2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds).
    The fish actually looks fine (not counting the big gash on its head), no changes in coloration, fins are not clamped, swimming fine, I have not witnessed the fish poop (yet), I have noticed that it is not going after food and it stays at the back corners of the tank for extended periods of time.
    The diagnosis that I was given was that it was “Discus Pimples”. I was told this was nothing serious and with time and correcting the water quality would fix the problem. That there was no need to QT since all the other fish had been exposed and if this was something serious it was curtain that all the fish were exposed to it by now. So I put the affected Discus back in the tank and continued making 50% water changes.

    3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.
    In my panic attack Sunday evening, I took the discus out of the tank and placed it in a QT and began treating with "All Cure", a product I got from Aquarium Coop, for the possibility of this being Hole-in-the-head, but when I was told that it was Discus pimple and that it was not serious, I went and returned the fish with the others in the main display. The affected area has grown incrementally since!

    Tank/Water

    4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.
    I own a 240 gallon tank that has been home for 11 Discus for the past year and a half and all ii of them are between 4..5 to 5.5 inches. Recently I committed the cardinal sin of adding a pair of wild caught Discus to this already establish and pristine tank!

    5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
    Well, I was do 30% water changes once a week until last Monday, Now Im doing 50% water changes every day!

    6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
    The tank has been running since May of 2018, Its a planted tank with about 1 to 3 inches of gravel substrate throughout the scape, depending on the location of the tank, some parts are deeper then others.

    7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
    I use RO water for my water changes which was usually aged for a week, but since Ive started changing water every day I don’t have the luxury to age it!

    8. What type/brand water conditioner do you use? Do you add it to the tank or aging barrel? How much do you use?
    I use Brightwell Discus Code and it is added to the tank.

    9. Parameters and water source;

    Note: Water Parameters are important in diagnosing problems within a tank. If you don't own test kits for the following information, you can purchase them, test your parameters and post this info as soon as possible.

    - temp: 86 degrees Fahrenheit

    - ph: Last time I checked it was 7.1

    - ammonia reading 0.00

    - nitrite reading 0.00

    - nitrate reading 0.10, I know this is high, but in a planted tank and being that’s so densely populated its to be expected.

    What type of water or combinations of water sources do you use? If it is an RO/tap/well water mix, please list percentages in the mix.

    - well water ____

    - municipal water ____

    - RO water: 100% RO water

    10. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
    Yes, 2 new wild caught discus which one is the subject of this inquiry. The other integrated nicely with the other 11 Discus.

    11. Please tell us what you feed your fish and how often. This can be critical information for solving the problem so be as specific as you can.
    Breakfast meal: Frozen Beef-heart (4 cubes) and frozen bloodworms (1 cube)
    Lunch meal: Discus flake food (2 pinches )
    Dinner Meal: Viber Bits (2 Pinches)

    12. Include any pictures or videos you have which shows the symptoms. If you can't add them to this post, please provide a link to them.
    I apologize, I don't know why my computer loads the pictures upside-down!

    This was this morning:
    IMG_1146.jpg
    This next one was just a few minutes ago!
    IMG_1148.jpg
    This one is where it hangs out in the back of the tank, as you can see it has grown significantly since this morning!
    IMG_1152.jpg

  2. #2
    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
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    Default Re: SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

    This is not a discus pimple. Do you have a separate tank you can move it too?
    Pat
    Your discus are talking to you....are you listening


  3. #3
    Silver Member Iminit's Avatar
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    Default Re: SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

    Pat there are 3 threads running on this fish. In the others there is a pic of what looks like a standard pimple.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

    Good evening all, I apologize if I created multiple entries on the site, I am still trying to learn how to maneuver my way around it.

    Also, wanted to give you all an update of what's been going on with the fish.

    I transferred the sick fish to its own quarantine tank/container and treated with Seachem PolyGard.

    I also went to the LFS and purchase a new API Test Kit to get accurate readings, this were my findings:

    PH: between 6.0 and 6.5
    Ammonia: 0
    Nitrate: 0
    Nitrite: 0
    Tanks TDS: 42
    Temp: 83.6

    IMG_1173.jpg

    I also spoke with the owner of the LFS pertaining to this and he was very suportive and provided the medication mentioned above at no cost. He also told me that if thing deteriorate he would provide me wit ha credit, hopefully it will not come to this!

  5. #5
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

    Was this water your RO mix or from the tank? Your LFS guy is wonderful.

    To Pat: Is there any you can merge all 2 of Vilo's threads into one?
    Mama Bear

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    Default Re: SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

    Good morning Liz, the water test was done from the water collected from the tank last night.

  7. #7
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

    Something ain't right. You should always have some nitrate reading in a cycled tank. I keep mine at 5. Check the expiration date on your test kit to make sure it's not out of date.
    Mama Bear

  8. #8
    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
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    Default Re: SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

    Quote Originally Posted by LizStreithorst View Post
    Was this water your RO mix or from the tank? Your LFS guy is wonderful.

    To Pat: Is there any you can merge all 2 of Vilo's threads into one?
    I can Liz but the order may not make sense as the posts are merged based on the post date.
    Pat
    Your discus are talking to you....are you listening


  9. #9
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

    I see, Pat.

    Vilo, lets stick everything in this thread so everyone will know where to post a response.
    Mama Bear

  10. #10
    Silver Member Iminit's Avatar
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    Default Re: SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

    Vilo did you shake the heck out of the second nitrate bottle than again when mixed. That second bottle really needs some heavy shaking. The chemicals in there separate and need some heavy shaking to bond together again.
    Liz in one of the other threads you asked about expiration dates. I’ve got a kit from 03 that has no expiration date. It gives me the same readings as my new kit. I think they only put expiration dates on them so we’d buy more.

  11. #11
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

    Well, that's not nice of them if it's true. Those kits cost a pretty penny which is why I no longer have one. The few times I've had questions about my water I run a sample in to the LPS where they test it free.
    Mama Bear

  12. #12
    Registered Member coralbandit's Avatar
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    Default Re: SOS!!! Bought a Wild Discus and it's exploding in my tank!!!!

    I would be looking for Formulin to treat the tank or fish with . Possibly just me ?
    I can't put my finger on the cause but I will bet something from your 'domestic discus' is attacking your wilds as they often have not developed resistance to many of the issues that can lurk in our aquariums . Do you know your pH /GH /KH ? They may not be important but some wild fish are very particular to water parameters beyond nutrient levels ..
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhFp68wjRUU
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